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02 Nov 2009 09:43

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World: Afghanistan settles on Hamid Karzai as its de facto president

We would call Hamid Karzai “The Comeback Kid,” but that might be offensive to both kids and comebacks. Let’s just call him “The.” source
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01 Nov 2009 11:07

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World: Daily poll: Can we take Hamid Karzai’s leadership seriously anymore?

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01 Nov 2009 08:39

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World: What does Abdullah’s election pullout mean for Hamid Karzai?

  • Dr. Abdullah could make a lot of problems for him, because, firstly, they could refuse to recognize his legitimacy and also they could refuse to recognize his authority.
  • Afghanistan Centre for Research and Policy Studies head Haroun Mir • Describing what Hamid Karzai faces as a result of the election crisis created by Abdullah Abdullah’s departure from the process. The runoff will likely still take place – ballots with both men’s names have already been printed – but Abdullah’s refusal to take part means that if Karzai wins, it’s not going to be seen as legitimate. Beyond the bombings, the Taliban, the U.S. military presence, the dwindling poppy seed crop and the death tolls, it also sucks to be in Afghanistan for political reasons right now. • source
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31 Oct 2009 10:39

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World: Here’s a number that’s not promising for the Afghanistan runoff

  • 2 UN staffers that the Taliban killed this week worked on the runoff source
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31 Oct 2009 09:22

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World: Protip for Hamid Karzai: Abdullah Abdullah needed for a runoff

  • Afghanistan’s leader is currently dealing with an angry challenger. When an election has widespread fraud, and you’re the biggest victim of the fraud, of course you’d be angry, right? Well, Abdullah Abdullah is so angry about it right now that he’s threatening not to be a part of the runoff. A runoff, by the way, that the U.S. had to pressure Hamid Karzai to take part in. In other news, who’s dressing as Hamid Karzai for Halloween this year? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Oct 2009 09:43

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World: Hamid Karzai not interested in power-sharing Afghan leadership

  • In our view there is no alternative to a second round. This is the only constitutional way to establish a new government.
  • Hamid Karzai’s campaign spokesman, Wahid Omar • Speaking at a press conference about the possibility of a power-sharing government. While Karzai agreed to a runoff, his challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, is just a wee bit concerned about the fact that the Independent Election Commission may not be as “independent” as its name suggests, and in fact may have many members loyal to Karzai. • source
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20 Oct 2009 09:23

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World: Hamid Karzai’s learning to live with the idea of a runoff

The Afghan president has the look of a man hoping that the “anyone but Karzai” grassroots campaign didn’t get off the ground. source
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19 Oct 2009 22:26

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World: The White House is cautiously optimistic on an Afghan runoff

  • There are any number of cliches you could choose from, but we’ll wait until the chickens are hatched.
  • A senior administration official • Discussing the White House’s happiness that there’s been a breakthrough in getting Afghan president Hamid Karzai to agree to a runoff, though there’s been no definitive agreement yet. Karzai had been fighting the idea of a runoff despite the fact that the UN found that many of the votes in his favor had been falsified. You still have a minor shot, Abdullah Abdullah! • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

19 Oct 2009 08:57

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World: Hamid Karzai has too much power over the Afghan election

  • He can somehow create an electoral deadlock. Despite the fact that the UN looked into the results of the election, and they’re designed to be an impartial third party, a UN-led probe into vote-rigging is on hold in Afghanistan because Karzai’s upset. Why? Because the UN’s throwing out questionable votes, which will cause a runoff election. And Karzai, for obvious reasons, doesn’t want a runoff. Karzai better deal with it, because he could be affecting whether the U.S. puts more troops in his country by fighting the electoral fraud charges. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Aug 2009 20:47

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World: Afghan prez candidate Abdullah Abdullah sez the election was rigged

  • The initial reports we are receiving are a bit alarming, I must say. There might have been thousands of violations throughout the country, no doubt about it.
  • Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah • Discussing the results of Friday’s election. He says that his team has lodged more than 100 complaints in the election. No matter the results of the election, current president Hamid Karzai will likely not win the election the first time – he needs to win by more than 50% to avoid a runoff. Preliminary results will be announced on Tuesday. • source
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